Welcome to the third trimester! Your baby is now the size of an eggplant, measuring ten (10) inches from crown to rump (or fifteen and a half [15.5] to sixteen [16] inches from head to heel) and weighing about two and a half (2.5) pounds. You are in your seventh month of pregnancy.

Your Baby

Between week 28 of pregnancy and when you give birth, your baby’s main developmental task is to mature and grow in size. Layers of fat continue to deposit under the skin, adding to the chub that you will ooh and ah over once your baby is born. Billions of neurons are developing in the brain. Brain wave activity indicates that your baby goes through REM (rapid eye movement) phases during sleep, which means that your little womb mate now dreams. The lungs continue to develop, so, although premature, your baby would most likely survive with the help of medical interventions if born during week 28 of pregnancy.

Your baby’s eyesight also continues to develop during week 28 of pregnancy. Your baby can blink and may even have miniature eyelashes. Most of the lunago, which was the fine, downy hair covering your baby’s body, has disappeared. Your baby may have a full head of hair that is a distinct color and texture, although many babies are born with very little head hair. Beginning around week 28 of pregnancy, your baby will begin to move into the proper position for birth with the head down and the face towards your back.

Your Body

Baby Bump at 28 Weeks

During week 28 of pregnancy, your uterus extends well above your belly button. The general rule is that the fundal height, which is the medical term for the height of the uterus, is equivalent to the week of your pregnancy. Therefore, during week 28 of pregnancy, your uterus is about twenty-eight inches in length. As your baby moves into place for birth, you may begin experiencing sciatic pain, which is also referred to as sciatica. The sciatic nerve is the nerve that runs through the lower back and into the buttocks and legs. The combined weight of your uterus and your baby’s head pressing on the sciatic nerve can cause tingling, numbness, or pain that starts in the buttocks and radiates down the backs of the legs. If you are suffering from sciatica, stay off your feet and rest as much as possible. The pain should stop once you give birth.

In addition to sciatic pain, you may also need to use the bathroom more frequently because your uterus and baby are again pushing on your bladder. Other symptoms during week 28 of pregnancy include leg cramps, mild swelling of the ankles and feet, restless legs, difficulty sleeping, shortness of breath, lower abdominal achiness, constipation, flatulence, heartburn, indigestion, clumsiness, and Braxton Hicks contractions. If your initial blood work drawn at the beginning of your pregnancy indicates that you are Rh negative, you will be offered an injection of Rh immunoglobulin to prevent your body from developing antibodies that could attack your baby. RhoGAM is the most common Rh immunoglobulin injection.

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Author: Heather Johnson
Heather Johnson is a mother, wife, writer, librarian, and linguist. She earned a BA in English studies with a minor in creative writing from Illinois State University in May 2007, an MS in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2009, and an MS in English studies with an emphasis in linguistics at Illinois State University in December 2011.

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